5 SEO Mistakes You Need to Stop Making

You just launched your website. Time to sit back and watch the visitors—and customers—roll in. After all, a website is like that baseball park in the corn field: “If you build it, they will come.” Right?

It’s cute that you think that. Here’s the reality though. Your beautiful website will become Internet tumbleweed if your content isn’t search engine friendly. Let’s dive into a few tips to increase your SEO—search engine optimization.

SEO Mistake #1
Creating content only targeting informational keywords

There are two types of keywords: informational and transactional. Informational keywords are general related searches around tips, ideas and how to’s. People using them are at the top of the funnel in their buyer’s journey. 

Transactional keywords are keywords or keyword phrases potential customers use to find the services or products they’re looking to buy.

Don’t spend all of your efforts creating content around high volume keywords for visitors at the top of the funnel, ignoring consumers further down the funnel. That could cause you to miss out on conversions. To find transactional keywords, use Google’s keyword planner to look for keywords with a higher value per click. Then start creating content focused on ranking for these keywords.

SEO Mistake #2
Overlooking the importance of optimizing your Google My Business page

A ton of web searching is done on mobile devices, which use location data. If you serve local customers, but aren’t targeting them with a strong local presence that shows up on Google, you’ll miss out on valuable customers and repeat visitors.

SEO Mistake #3
Slow-loading website equals losing possible clients

We all know the modern attention span is trash. In today’s “gotta have it now” environment, your site had better load quickly. As in, a matter of seconds. Otherwise, people will move on. Load speed will impact your site’s SEO standing, so talk to your web developer about this.

Not only do you risk losing potential customers, but Google also frowns upon slow-loading sites, especially when comparing them to your competitors’ sites. Make sure your development team understands and tests for this issue to keep bounce rates low.

SEO Mistake #4
Overusing one keyword

Overusing a word or phrase for SEO purposes is known as “keyword stuffing.” Not only is padding content with keywords an obnoxious practice that will piss off readers, but Google might see it as a spam technique. This could lead to you getting the boot from Google’s index.

Instead, use synonyms. Using words that are similar to your main keyword allows you to practice smart and safe keyword research without running the risk of being penalized for keyword stuffing.

SEO Mistake #5
Under-utilizing internal linking

Do you have great content related to your different products? Don’t be afraid to let the streams cross. If you’re creating content for a new product, and you have existing related content, link between the two. This gives you twice the exposure for one click. It also helps guide the visitor/customer to learn more about you and what you offer.

Conclusion

While some of these tips may seem commonplace, they will benefit your website, business, and overall brand. To talk about how you can have a more effective website, contact Superkick for a free 30-minute consultation.